Display cabinet



May 30, 1933. .1. c. KAELBER DISPLAY CABINET Filed Jan. 13, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR wv.,a/(MM ATTORNEYS May 30, 1933. J. c. KAELBER DISPLAY CABINET Filed Jan. 15, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JAM ' ATTORNEYS Patented May 30, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE or rnmaimnrnu, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 wmr cou- DISPLAY CABINET Application filed J'anuary'18, 1932. Serial No. 586,356.

My present invention has for its object to provide a display cabinet for incandescent electric lamps which will enable customers to more readily determine the size or type of lamp desired and will enable a salesman to demonstrate the operab hty of a selected lamp under varying conditions.

A further object of my invention 1s to provide a self supporting structure whlch is simple in construction and cheap to manufacture which will also serve as a container for a limited-number of oods in packages, or cartons, such as lamp ulbs or other articles for use in connection therew1th, the sales of which may be stimulated, or facilitated, if exhibited during the lam testing operation. To these and other en s my invention consists in further lmprovements all as will be fully descrlbed 1n the following specification, the novel features being particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively front and rear perspective views of a cabmet constructed in accordance with my invention, the former being illustrated with several mcandescent lamp bulbs mounted thereon; Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional vlew on the line 3Hw of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 1s a longitudinal sectional view of one end of a cabinet taken on the line 410-402 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a similar view of the opposite end of the cabinet, taken on the line 5:22-5:12 of Fig. 2, showing the current regulating device employed mounted on the cabinet; Fig. 6 shows in perspective a slip socket for use in the cabinet illustrated.

Similar reference characters in the several figures indicate similar parts.

In the retail sale of incandescent electric lamp bulbs it is customary for the salesman to test them to satisfy the customer, at the time the purchase is made, that the filaments are intact and that the bulbs possess the necessary vacuum and are otherwise satisfactory in their light giving qualities. Heretofore this has required providing a lamp socket, connected to the usual lighting circuit, mounted on the sales counter and results in a loss of time to both the customer often necessitates the unwrapping or opening of a large number of cartons to efi'ect the sale of a single bulb. When the sale is completed the clerk is then obliged to re place the remaining unwrapped bulbs in their original packages and return the latter to stock.

Customers often request a demonstration, or the salesman will wish to exhibit to the purchaser some other fitting or adjunct to a lamp such as a rheostat control forvarying the current consumption, a particular type of lamp shade, or other attachment.

In carrying out my invention I have provided a sales cabinet which is made of suitable size for use on a store counter which provides for the open display of a plurality of lamps sufficient to exhibit the types and sizes commonly used for household lighting purposes and affords space for a number of packaged goods. The cabinet contains provision, in the nature of slip sockets, for supporting the bulbs so that they may be readily inserted and removed and in order that some particular attachment which a merchant may wish to demonstrate as a sales feature, such as a current varying device, provision is made for mounting it more or less permanently in an accessible position on the cabinet which will obviate the necessity of the salesman leaving the customer or re quiring the latter to accompany him to the place in the store where the lamp testing socket is located.

, In the present embodiment of my invention I have shown a cabinet having provision for the simultaneous display of five incandescent electric lam bulbs which are preferably selected of ifi'erent sizes and shapes and having various ratings of current consumption. The cabinet comprises a top 1, a base 2, a front panel 3 and end panels 4 and 5. From practical experience I have determined that there are several important considerations which must be met in a structure of this character. The ensemble must be such that the lamp manufacturer or manufacturers, or jobbers, of a specialty for use with such lamps can afford to virtually give the devices to the retail dealers or figure u on absorbing their cost in the sales price of a comparatively small order of specified articles. The structure should not exceed a certain size and weight because of the expense involved in packing and shipping as well as the consideration that must be given to the fact that in a great majority of smaller places where such oods are sold the store-keepers have but ittle counter space available. Other considerations which affect the shape of the cabinet are that lamp bulbs and the accessories demonstrated therewith, especially current regulating rheostats employed for demonstrating the operation of the lamps, are supplied in cartons of different sizes. Also current regulators are operated by the salesmen from a point in rear of the cabinet, and to prevent its displacement it is desirable to provide it with a broad base which will afford it stability. Incidentally by making the top considerably smaller than the base and only of suflicient size to accommodate the lamps mounted thereon, the latter are not obscure and their appearance is not detracted from by an accumulation of other articles. To accomplish all of these ends I have constructed the cabinet of sheet metal in the manner illustrated.

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and 4 it will be observed that the base 2 and front anel 3 are formed of a single sheet bent at the bottom front edge 3a so that the front panel extends" upwardly and rearwardly. The top of this panel is provided with a flange 3b which underlies the top 1. At its ends the panel 3 has rearwardly extending flanges 30 which overlie the end panels 4 and 5. Along the rear edge of the bottom 2, I provide a short upwardly extending flange 2a, forming a 'retainer for the enclosed goods, having a bead or rim 2?) which is preferabl formed by folding the metal inwardly t us forming a smooth surface on the-retainer wall.

The ends 4 and 5 are constructed alike and converge at their upper ends. Their lower ends, as illustrated in Fig. 5, are provided with horizontal flanges 5a which extend beneath and are riveted or otherwise secured to the bottom 2 as indicated by 6 and protuberances 5b are formed in these flanges to provide a plurality of bearing points or feet. At their upper extremities the end walls are provided with short flanges or ears 50 underlying the top wall 1 to which they may be attached by fastening devices such as 6a. At the forward edges of these walls are inwardly extending flanges 5d which. rest against the inner face of the front panel 3. The rear edges of the end walls extend vertically and are formed with inwardly extending flanges 56 which correspond in width and-shape to the retaining rim 2a which, in addition to performing the function ascribed to the rim 24, also act in conjunction with the flanges 5d as stiffening ribs which serve to strengthen the end walls. In constructing the cabinet the end walls are first secured in position on the bottom 2 and front panel 3 and the top wall 1 is applied as the finishing piece or cap. To this end the top piece is provided with end flanges la and a front flange 1b overlying the upper boundary of the end plates 4 and 5 and of the front panel 3. Extending downwardly from the rear edge of the top panel is a short stiffening flange 10 which lies in the plane of the previously described flanges 2a and 56. From the construction described it will be seen that the cabinet is rigidly maintained in assembled form by the rivets or fastening devices 6 and 60,. However, other fasteners may be provided at intermediate points along the top which extend through the horizontal flange 3b as indicated by 1d, but these are utilized for a further purpose as will be mentioned later.

Arranged in longitudinal alignment on the center line of the top wall are a plurality of apertures, indicated by A, which are preferably somewhat larger in diameter than the usual screw threaded base of an incandescent lamp bulb. In the illustrations I have shown five of these apertures beneath four'of which are concentrically disposed cup-shaped retainers or sockets B which are of suitable size to receive a lamp base. 1 One of these retainers is shown in detail in Fig. 6 in which it will be seen that they are provided with inwardly extending spring fingers formed by severing the material along parallel lines and forcing the narrow ribbon of material therebetween inwardly, as indicated at b, sufficiently to form a slight frictional contact with a lamp socket when the latter is inserted therein.

In .order to securely mount the several slip sockets or retainers in operative position on the cabinet I secure them in proper position to register with the corresponding apertures A on a frame piece which extends longitudinally beneath the top wall 1. A simple and inexpensive way in which this frame piece may be made is that shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in which itis illustrated as trough shaped and comprising the downwardly extending side walls 7a supporting a bottom rail 7 in such a position beneath the top wall 1 that the sockets B, which are secured thereto by center screws b and nuts 6 are held below the plane of the top 1 of front 3.

the cabinet. The depth of the sockets B and their position beneath the top 1 is such that the point of juncture between the neck or stem of a lamp bulb and its screw socket is slightly above the upper surface of the top 1. The apertures A in the latter are sufiiciently larger than the sockets B to receive the neck of a lamp bulb and to accommodate an occasional short base lamp. The intentional arrangement of the parts is that if the purchaser views the display from a point where he looks downwardly at the top of the cabinet, or with the top 1 in a plane horizontal with his line of vision, he will see a slight portion of the lamp base.

The upper portion or side walls 7a of the frame piece extend laterally as short flanges in opposite directions, as indicated by 7b, and provide convenient means by which the rame piece may be connected by rivets 1d and 7 c to the top 1. In assembling the parts of the structure described the fastening devices 1d are so positioned that they perform the dual purpose of securing the one side of the frame piece and the flange 3b of the One of the apertures A and an aperture at one end of the cabinet is utilized for mounting ate piece of display apparatus which the merchant may at one and the same time demonstrate both the operability of a particular lamp selected by a customer and also the associated apparatus. The mounting of this feature 0 the invention is illustrated in Fig. 5 in which I have shown a suitable socket comprising a lower portion 10 of porcelain, or other insulating material, resting against the lower surface of the top panel 1 and carrying a screw shell 11 which extends through the aperture A and is engaged by an internally threaded porcelain ring 12 which locks the device to the cabinet by engagement with a rubber washer or gasket 13. The block 10 carries terminals 14 and 15 which are insulated from each other and comprise the circuit connections for the screw shell 11 and the center conpreferably top of the the associtact therein. These terminals are adapted to be connected to separate conductors of a cable 16 which leads outwardly from the cabinet through an insulated bushing 17 in the adjacent end wall 4, and is ada ted to be connected to the usual mains of the electric lighting system.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 5 I have shown as the lamp tester a current regulating device, or rheostat, such as that disclosed in the patent to C. L. Weichelt, No. 1,750,740, granted March 18, 1930. This current regulator for electric lamps comprises a rotatable rheostat ring supported for oscillatory movement in the casing 18 mounted on a screw plug which is inserted in the shell 11. The rheostat ring which I have not illustrated it will be y means of a frame piece secure to said understood is adjustable by means of flexible connections 20 and 21 to various positions whereby a greater or less amount of current Wlll be permitted to flow in the filament circuit of a lamp inserted in the regulator. For the urpose of demonstrating the lamp selected by the customer and also to simultaneously illustrate the operation of the regulator, I provide the latter with a sli socket B which takes the place of the t read socket with which the commercial type of regulator is. provided and illustrated in the above mentioned patent. In order that the regulator which is used for demonstrating purposes may not be detached it is locked in its operative position by means of a bracket 22 which is secured to the top 1 by a bolt 23 and has an end or finger 24 which extends into an aperture in the casing 18 and prevents the latter from being disconnected from. the socket.

I claim:

1. A display cabinet for incandescent electrio lamps comprising a box having a relatively Wide bottom, a relatively narrow top having a row of a ertures formed therethrough, a front wall 'oined to said bottom and top, and end wal s joined to said bottom, top and front wall, said front wall oping rearwardly from said bottom to said top, said box providing a space accessible from the rear for packaged goods, a current regulator for electric lamps mounted on said top in the row of said apertures and having a slip socket for receiving a lamp bulb base, and additional slipsockets mounted beneath said top in registration with said apertures for support and display of additional lamps.

2. A display cabinet for incandescent electrlc lam s comprising a box having a relatively wide bottom, a relatively narrow top provided with a plurality of longitudinally alined apertures, a front wall joined to said bottom and top, and end walls joined to said bottom, top and front wall, said front from said bottom wall sloping rearwardly to said top, said box providin a s ace accessible from the rear for pac age goods, a current regulator for electric lamps mounted on said top in longitudinal alinement with said apertures and having a slip socket for receivin a lamp bulb base, box extending beneath said apertures in spaced relationship with said top, and additional slip sockets mounted on .said frame piece in alinement with said apertures for support and display of additional lam s.

In testimony w iereof, I have signed this specification.

JULIUS C. KAELBER. 

